9 feared dead after boat capsizes on River Nile in northern Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda

Nine people are feared to have drowned when their boat capsized on the Nile River in northern Uganda, police said on Tuesday.

Police spokesman Patrick Jimmy Okena said in a statement that 13 workers were traveling on the small boat from the northern Apac district to the southern Masindi district in the River Nile on Monday evening when it capsized.

Four of the passengers were rescued and taken to a medical facility at Masindi Port, while the remaining nine were still missing, with efforts to find their bodies underway, the statement said.

Boat accidents are common in Uganda, as four people were killed last week when a boat capsized in Lake Victoria due to overcrowding.